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GRID Project Case Study:
Design and Build a Hovercraft in a Day
Grange Technology College
and the University of Bradford
West Yorkshire, England, UK
I School Context
a. Introduction
Grange Technology College is a large mixed comprehensive school for
students aged 11-18 based in an urban area. It has approximately 1800
pupils who predominantly come from socially disadvantaged backgrounds
from areas close to Bradford city centre. Attainment is generally low andin 2003 there were 578 students whose primary language was not English.
Most students in the school are from an Asian (Pakistani) background,
with small minorities from white (British), Asian (Indian), Asian
(Bangladeshi), and others from a range of ethnic heritages1. The 2003
inspection report is positive and concludes that most aspects of the school, including the quality of
education provided, are very good. Over the last few years, exam grades and attendance have
improved dramatically at Grange Technology College2 and in 2004 was named as a ‘particularly
successful school’3. Grange has also received the ‘Schools Achievement Awards’4 for three
consecutive years (2001-2003).
The college achieved has specialist school status in ‘Technology’ in 2001, and has been awardedthe Specialist Colleges Trust Value Added Award in 2003. In 2005 the school was nominated as a
‘High Performing’ specialist school and invited to become a ‘Training School’5 by the DfES.
The school is also part of the Bradford Excellence in Cities (EiC) project, a national programme of
support for schools in deprived areas of the country, provided by the DfES. EiC provides resources
and a coherent programme of strategies focused on teaching and learning, behaviour and
attendance, and leadership. The programme includes a collection of initiatives ranging from
learning mentors and schemes for the gifted and talented to advanced technology city learning
centres.
1 Source: DfES Inspection Report, December 2003. http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/reports/107/107414.pdf
2 GCSE Results - Percentage of students gaining A-C grades: 52% (2005), 46% (2004) and 29%(2003)
3 Since 1993/94, HMCI's Annual Report has identified schools that, in the inspection year, received an outstanding inspection report and
where the pupils were achieving very well.
4 The Schools Achievement Award was three year programme developed to celebrate the achievements of schools that have either made
significant improvement or are high performing.
5 Training School status is awarded to schools that have shown good practise in teacher training. The aim of the programme is to build
up and share good and developing Initial Teacher Training practice with other schools and their training providers, both within their
existing partnership networks and beyond. Extra funding is provided by the DfES so that schools can expand training activities.
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b. School Policy
In terms of general school policy, the school’s aims are:
• To help their students to learn and achieve together through a strong partnership between school,
students and home
• To help their students achieve to the best of their ability, and gain examination results to match
their potential
• To help students become aware of and develop their role in the community
• To prepare their students for further education, work and leisure
• To provide a safe, secure and stimulating environment in which learning can take place.
As a specialist school6, Grange has special focus on its specialist area: technology. As part of the
Specialist School Programme, the school must continue to teach the full national curriculum, but
also provide enriched learning opportunities in their chosen specialist subjects. Schools with
technology status must provide equally rich learning experiences in technology, maths and
science. As a result of this designation, the school has funding to provide enriching science
activities as well as work with the local community. Such activities are written in to the schools
development plan.
II Context of Pedagogical Project
a. Description of the Whole Plan:
The ‘Design and Build a Hovercraft in a Day’
event has been created by the University of
Bradford’s School of Engineering, Design and
Technology Department. This is a relatively large
department with a long and distinguished history.
As well as offering a variety of degree courses, thedepartment has been rapidly gaining a reputation
for its innovative, hands-on design and build
projects for schools and colleges. ‘Design and
Build a Hovercraft’ is one of their most popular.
The initial idea was developed by a Durham
University Professor. This has been developed by
the Bradford’s School of Engineering, originally
part of the department’s residential programmes,
where maths and physics were the core part of the
project. Over the years with funding from various sources, the event has been developed and
improved into a more fun and hands-on event for younger students (age 15-18). It was originallyset-up to focus on girls with an aim to to encourage them into engineering but over the last couple
of years other funding sources have allowed the project to expand and take place using mixed
gender groups such as the one at Grange Technology College.
Organisation
The ‘Design and Build a Hovercraft’ event is run in a variety of different schools as part of the
School of Engineering’s outreach activities. This particular event took place at Grange Technology
College, a school which is within close proximity of the local University. The day before the
GRID project’s observation (March 16th), the event was also ran with groups of year 12 students
(age 16-17) from several schools in the Bradford area.
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6 For more information about the British Specialist School System: http://www.specialistschools.org.uk/
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With major funding from NATEC – this same event has also taken place in other areas of the UK.
One of these events took place at the Airbus Factory in Broughton (Oxfordshire).
In terms of funding, the case study event at Grange is made possible with funding from the DfES
as part of their Technology College Specialist School status. The event is run with year 10 students
(age 14-15), but not the whole cohort can take part. The amount of funding the school has set aside
for this project is enough to fund 70 students. The students who take part in the event are primarily
those identified as gift and talented. These students also have a sufficient level of understanding of
maths/physics that is required to complete the activities. A couple of students the school thoughtwould benefit from the social skills acquired were also selected to take part.
Aims and Objectives
The aim of the event is to inspire and interest students in science, maths and technology to
progress towards a career in engineering. The event is strategically placed in ‘National Science
Week’ in March towards the end of the school year to allow ample time for students to evaluate
their future career aspirations and make the appropriate further education choices. It is an
important time for students of this age as they are about 30% through their GCSE courses and will
already be considering their post-16 education options. Sixth-form and college applications are
generally made the following year, so the event is placed in that particular point of the school year
in order to influence student choices so that:
• Students have a chance to consider science, maths and technology for further study as well
as the possible career options this might open, leaving ample time for the student to
consider this fully and seek out further information and advice. If inspired, students who
were previously not interested in science related careers, can consider this as an option and
investigate appropriately what course would be of most benefit.
• Student perceptions are altered to perceive science and engineering careers as more
inviting. If they realise that this is an area of interest to them, they have time to engage
further in their studies if they weren’t so previously. Thus emphasising the importance of
science and maths studies and motivating students to work hard at the subjects that are
required.
b. Learning Process
The ‘Design and Build a Hovercraft’ event has been designed to be an entertaining, exciting and
stimulating learning activity that allows students to actively use maths and science to create a large
tangible objects. Taking place in the main school hall, a large environment that allows the students
to work in groups with large equipment/materials. This is usually not feasible in the average
school classroom. .
The approach is predominantly ‘hands-on’, concentrating on the development of understanding of
physics and maths concepts through participation in a real-life, project-based scenario. Teacherinstruction is minimal and more in the form of guidance, although and safety is of course a main
point of emphasis throughout the day. Initial talks by the teachers are used to motivate and excite
the students – giving context to the project; and although students are reminded of some maths and
physics concepts they will need to use, the emphasis is on the overall concept rather than the
specifics. All technical information is provided in the form of a handout document. This contains
all the practical information, including diagrams and formulas that will be needed to fully design
and build a hovercraft. Time is not taken to explain this orally to the group, students are each
given a paper copy as a source of reference of the day. It is up to the groups themselves to
understand and follow instructions and guidance provided in the handout.
The project takes pride in its use of everyday equipment; all work is conducted with inexpensive,modern household items that are easily available on the high street. The most elaborate is a ‘leaf
blower’ that is used as an engine, but other simple materials such as foam board, gaffer tape,
scissors and string are also used. All non-specialist items students are familiar with, they require
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little explanation and every student would probably know where to buy these, bringing science
down to an everyday level of understanding. The project is not centred round the existence of the
equipment, but what is done with it – students are encouraged to be creative and think ‘out of the
box’, creating their own hovercraft design specifications using their own skills and knowledge to
perform accurate calculations.
c. Curriculum Links
This event is definitely something extra to the science and technology curriculum. However, thework conducted by students has direct links to ‘Forces and Motion’, a GCSE science unit of study.
The event is mostly an enrichment activity for gifted and talented students funded directly by
specialist status funding. In addition to the one day event, a comprehensive resource pack is
provided to students and teachers. This provides about 30 hours of hovercraft related learning
activities that include essays, questions, activities and further reading.
III Concrete Case Study
a. Introduction
Pedagogical Grid
Identification
Establishment: Grange Technology College, Bradford
Organiser’s name:
Joanne Crowther, (School of Engineering, Design
and Technology, University of Bradford) Judith
King (Grange School Technology Coordinator)
Subject:Engineering – Build and Design a Hovercraft in a
Day
Context
Class: level Year 10 students (age 14-15)
Number of pupils 70 x Year 10 students with 10 x year 12/13 mentors.
Date/Hour 16 March 2006: 09.15-15.30
Duration of the observation (when
applicable)1 day 09-15-15.30
Learning/teaching objective
Summary description
The event takes place in the Grange College of
Technology Main School Hall. The same event is
also held here on the 15th March for a variety of
local schools.
The selected school group recieves a short
introduction to the day, followed by a project
briefing session and short health and safety talk.
The participating school group is then divided in to
small groups of 8-10 pupils. During 2 phases, the
teams are to design, build and test their own mini-hovercraft that will support 100kg. The hovercraft is
made using everyday materials such as foam board,
plastic skirting and adhesive tape following
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instructions given to them at the start of the day by
staff and students from the University. The teams
are assisted by student mentors (yr12/13).
At the end of their day's work, the pupils will get to
see whose design works the best when each team
will have to race each other's hovercraft.
Description of the sequence
Intentions of the teacher
The objective of the session is to give students a real
hands-on experience in the world of engineering by
allowing them to build and design their own
hovercraft in teams of 8-10. The aim is to inspire
and excite students about a career in engineering to
raise interest in them pursuing further education in
the sciences.
Tutors from the University are available to assist
students with the design and building process.
Description of the activity stage
The ‘Design and Build a Hovercraft’ activity is split
into several phases throughout the day:
• Introduction (10 mins): Pupils are given a
general introduction to the event by the
organiser.
• Project Briefing (20 mins): Pupils arebriefed about what they need to know to
design and build their hovercraft in teams.
• Health and Safety (5 mins): A small talk
regarding safety issues that may arrise.
• Design and Build Phase I (2 hrs and 50
mins): Teams design and build their
hovercraft. Pupils are assisted by university
staff and student mentors (yr12/13).
• Design and Build Phase II (45 mins): Time
for the teams to make any final adjustments
to their hovercrafts.• Testing – The Great Race (50 mins): The
teams get the chance to race their
hovercrafts where they will be assessed with
respect to design and speed criteria.
• Plenary and Prize Giving (30 mins): Prizes
are awarded to the winning teams.
Pupils’ output
The Design a Hovercraft in a day project is a hands-
on event where pupils actually create a working
hovercraft. First they design the vehicle according
to preliminary instructions, they begin their task by
using a series of complex equations to calculate
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platform area, flow rate and skirt gap in order to
design a working hovercraft. They then procede to
build the hovercraft from every day materials
provided.
At the end of the day a chosen person from each
group gets to drive the hovercraft around the circuit,
the race is judged by the students according to
design and speed.
Scenario
The event takes place in a relatively large school hall with a layout that changes throughout the
day according to the phase of the event.
At the beginning of the event, the hall is laid out with a large seating area for the students in the
centre of the room. At the front of the hall is a screen and projector displaying information and
slides from presentations. At either side of the room, a row of 5 tables are arranged with the
necessary equipment the students will need throughout most of the day. Each team of students willbe given a designated ‘workstation’. One of the main characteristics of this event is the students’
ability to construct a working hovercraft they can race out of simple, everyday items as can be
seen below [Fig 1]
Fig 1 - Equipment
The event is mainly coordinated throughout the day by three people:
• Joanne Crowther (Event Organiser/University of Bradford)
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• Jack Bradley (Event Co-Organiser/University of Bradford)
• Judith King (Assistant Head Teacher and Technology College Coordinator / Grange
Technology College)
b. Real Progression of the Session
The event is divided into several sections. First of all the event is introduced to the students.
Introductions
General Welcome (9.30 am)
Judith King, assistant head teacher, gives a general
introduction to the day. The nature of the event is already
one of competition. To inject some extra motivation, the
teacher adds an element of competition against their
older students in year 12 who took part in the same event
the day before.
Miss King: “What we are looking for today is for
year 10s to be so much better! To producehovercrafts that are really, really spectacular! The
designs yesterday were excellent, but I think you
people can do better!”
Miss King explains the purpose of the ‘Yellow T-Shirt Brigade’ – a team of year 12 mentors from
the school and older students from the university’s engineering department. In fact, the year 12
students from the school were also involved in the same event the day before. They have been
elected to help their younger students with their work, minimising teacher intervention. The
teacher explains how they have the ‘technical-know-how’ and will be there to assist the students
and to ensure health and safety.
Miss King: “The mentors are going to give you lots of safety instructions so you
know exactly what you are doing, exactly how you are going to do it, and we are
all going to build and race a hovercraft!”
Introduction to the Event (9.40 am)
Joanne Crowther (Event Organiser) from the University of Bradford takes centre stage and gives
an inspiring ‘great welcome’ to the event. Using an enthusiastic manner, Joanne motivates and
excites the students while she introduces the aims and objectives of the event:
Joanne explains about the project’s objectives and how it is hoped that it will inspire some of them
into thinking about becoming engineers and scientists for the future. The learning objectives of theevent are described:
Joanne: “You are going to have a lot of fun today, you are not
only going to have a go at building and designing a hovercraft,
you are also going to be working in a team This will test your
team building skills, communication skills and later on, we will
be also testing your creativity.”
The main emphasis of the day is ‘fun’. Students are constantly
reminded that they are to enjoy themselves and how they are the centre
of attention. It is a day for them and them only! Joanne proceeds to
show the students a picture of a hovercraft from a previous event [Fig
2] in order to illustrate the end result of the day Fig 2
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Joanne then explains how they will race their hovercrafts in the ‘great race’ and how the room’s
layout will be changed to incorporate a small race track. She continues by describing safety
equipment that will be used such as helmets, elbow and knee pads and how safety must come first
at all times. The talk continues to detail how the events of the day will unfold. (The different
phases of the event are included in the Appendix.
Project Briefing (9.45am)
Jack Bradley explains how for today the students will be taking on the role of engineer. This
seems to give the students a sense of importance, it is certain that this is a role they have not been
able to assume before.
Jack: “An engineer uses science, physics, maths to design tangible objects like a
hovercraft. And you are going to be using some maths and physics. But it is going
to so much fun that you are not even going to know that you are doing it!”
He continues by describing how they will use a ‘design specification’.
“Your challenge today is to build a hovercraft. This hovercraft should be able to
carry a load of 1000 Newtons which is approximately 100Kg which is about twice
the weight of an average student. So you are going to design a hovercraft that canmove along this floor nice and smoothly…that is your challenge for today.”
“I would like to introduce you to a little mathematical formula, and that is that:
‘Pressure = Force / Area’. And this is a very basic formula that we can transpose”
“We have already done some work to find out what kind of pressure that the
motors generate and we also know the approximate weight of a student and by
doing a simple calculation by transposing this equation we can work out the
theoretical area of your hovercraft. How big it needs to be. We have done that work
for you and I can tell you that the area of your hovercraft should be 1 square metre”
Jack demonstrates what a metre square looks like by arranging
four steel rules in a square. This is the exact surface area
needed by the hovercraft in order for it to carry a student. He
encourages the students to be creative:
“But square is a very boring shape…don’t you agree? We
don’t want to build a square hovercraft! So your first task
once split into groups will be to design the ‘shape’ of your
hovercraft. It can be any shape that you like…but it must
have a surface area of one square metre”
Jack explains about the handout document they have been given and how all the informationthey will need, including formulas and diagrams, is provided there.
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Health and Safety Talk (10.00 am)
This part of the talk details the equipment that is provided (and
its appropriate usage) as well as safety precautions that must be
considered. It is important to ensure safety guidelines as some of
the equipment carries certain risks and students will often be
working in their own groups without full supervision by the
teachers. Particular emphasis is placed on safety when using
knives. Jack explains that the safety gloves and glasses should be
worn at all times when cutting.
Foam boards should only be cut whilst on top of the silver
insulation that have been provided. To cut out the boards, knives
with a retractable blade are to be used in combination with craft
knives for extra length.
Safety is emphasised and covers must be placed over the knives
whenever they are not in use. Other pieces of equipment are
explained in detail so that the students know what to do with the.
One such tool is the circular cutter pictured on the left.
Students are shown a short video clip of the film ‘Die Another Day’ where James Bond uses a
hovercraft to escape from the enemy. Students are then split into 9 equally proportioned mixed
sex groups. The 10 students from Haycliffe school stay in their own group and is supervised
by the teacher who accompanied them. All chairs are removed from the centre of the hall -
groups are allocated a workstation. From this point forward the students are responsible for
their own work with guidance from mentors. The event organisers and teachers take a back
seat approach – they intervene only when it is appropriate.
‘Design and Build’ Phase 1
Students are sat down in their groups at their allocated table and begin to look through the
equipment. Mentors introduce themselves and settle down the groups so that all students
remain focused. The groups from Grange are a selection of a very large year group, so they
may not already know each other before the event. Mentors therefore encourage students to
introduce themselves and communicate with all members of the group as team work is very
important aspect of this initiative. The group that is taking part in the event is a selection of a
large year group, so not all student know each other automatically therefore introductions are
needed. Every student is given a badge to wear so that they can identify each other correctly.Student mentors assist with this process:
Mentor: “So who wants to do the drawing then? Anyone want to design the
hovercraft?
Mentor: “Anybody want to be the leader, anyone up to that challenge?”
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The teams of students talk amongst themselves
and their mentors as they begin to discuss their
roles in designing/building the hovercraft. Mentors
encourage the students to communicate.
Once the appropriate roles have been allocated, the
teams progress to discussing the design of their
hovercrafts. Mentors assist the students in this
process. At first, the students brainstorm thedesign of their hovercrafts on paper. They discuss
both the shapes and size of the hovercraft base.
The surface area must be equal to 1 square metre.
Several possible shapes are discussed between the teams.
Fig 3 - Hovercraft Shapes
The students then use their maths skills to calculate the appropriate dimensions for the required
area (i.e. 1m²) All students are already familiar with the necessary equations needed to calculate
different shaped areas.
Fig 4 – Hovercraft Maths
Once the teams have completed their calculations and made a joint decision about their hovercraft
design, the teams proceed to collect the cutting area to choose their board and cut-out their design.Mentors are available to help out the students to ensure accurate measurements and cutting. Each
hovercraft design is different – a variety of different shapes and sizes have been used.
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Once cut out, the foam board forms the main platform for the hovercraft. Students build another
platform on top for the leaf blower. This is necessary so that it can be inserted and held in place
safely. A special instrument is used to cut a hole in the foam board.
Student Q and A (12.30pm)
A few of the student mentors are former Grange pupils who are now studying for an engineering
degree at the University of Bradford. As part of the ‘Design and Build a Hovercraft’ event, time is
set aside for these mentors to talk to the participating students about university life and their
courses at the University of Bradford. Appropriate A-level choices are discussed as well as future
higher education / career possibilities. This time is used to link the practical activities of the day to
the students’ forthcoming further education choices. This is also a time where students are
encouraged to ask questions regarding furthering their education to purse Science, Technology,
Engineering and Maths related careers.
Design and Build Phase II
In this stage, students continue building their
hovercrafts where needed. The student teams are
at different stages of their design. A couple of
teachers become involved to assist a few groups
who are lagging behind.
Mentors continue to assist and guide the teams
with the construction of their hovercraft. Plastic
sheeting is attached to form a skirt on the
hovercraft. This is a collaborative process that
requires several team members to assist.
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A more creative element is introduced to the
event. The groups are asked to choose a name
for their team and are given materials so that
they can decorate their hovercrafts. These
include: coloured markers and pencils, glitter,
feathers, glue and balloons.
Some teams create additional fittings and
objects out of spare foam board and card.
They design logos based on their team
names. They are also given plain white T-
Shirts that they can write on and wear for the
remainder of the event.
Final Adjustments & Testing
The building phase comes to an end and students are encouraged to make their final adjustments to
their hovercrafts. A member of each team is chosen to ride the hovercraft in the race – other team
members assist with the test and setup of the hovercraft. Several adults including teachers/mentors
are available in case of any problems. In order to function correctly, the hovercrafts are attached
by a rope so that they can be pulled. The leaf blowers create a rush of air that allows the hovercraft
to glide across the floor. After being tested successfully, the hovercrafts are lined up ready for the
race.
The Great Race
This is the highlight of the event where the teams finally get to compete and race their hovercrafts.
The race takes the form of several heats – two hovercrafts compete in each round. A panel of
adjudicators marks each hovercraft according to their design and speed.
Once each hovercraft has raced, the winning teams and runners up are announced. All competitors
take home a small gift to remember the event.
c. Open Conclusion
Achieved Objectives
All teams have successfully built and raced their hovercrafts with minimal intervention from
adults. There is a great sense of satisfaction and pride amongst the students who have thoroughly
enjoyed the day’s activities. Students have greater awareness of the role of an engineer and have
developed several skills through the design and construction of their hovercraft. They have also
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gained a good understanding of the subjects and qualifications needed to be accepted on a
science/engineering degree.
Obstacles
No particularly large obstacles other than time needed to organise and run the event as well as
replenishing materials. Students sometimes have to be reminded of the health and safetyguidelines in order for them to be followed correctly.
Transferability
This project is particularly transferable due to its use of easily available everyday materials. All of
these can be purchased easily from supermarkets and DIY stores. A suitably large room is needed
to accommodate the hovercraft materials, tools and building space. The event can be run in a
single school or as a joint initiative between several institutions. A good team of student mentors is
vital for this the project to work. They have to be fully briefed about the event in advance, or have
taken part themselves in the past.
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